


E Flat

by whywouldyou14



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, One Shot, Romantic Comedy, Singing, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22072390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whywouldyou14/pseuds/whywouldyou14
Summary: Jaskier participates in a musical contest. Geralt is doing what is best for the bard: inspiring.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 8
Kudos: 154





	E Flat

**Author's Note:**

> I have only watched the series so far, so I base my story on the Netflix adaptation. I plan to read the books so I can understand more about The Witcher universe. The story happens shortly after the events of the first season of the series. Also, "Defying gravity" is definitely not a folk or medieval song, but it's super challenging for a tenor, you can believe me :) Comments and feedback are welcome.

The sun was bright and warm when Geralt of Rivia entered Svorlag, one of the two towns in the island of Spikeroog. The wooden houses were decorated with red and blue flags, there was less dirt than usual, and he could hear the soft screeching of the ships in the docks nearby. Nothing like a nice town festivity to pass some time drinking ale and tending to his wounds until the next monster, and a generous payment, appeared in his way. He wasn't expecting much: when you don't have any hopes, you may never be disappointed with your destiny.  
He entered the inn hoping there was a spare table in one of its deserted corners. Unfortunately, the Witcher had little luck. The place was crowded with visitors and locals, and the innkeeper was busy quarrelling loudly with a skinny man that was shaking his lute impatiently. The subject seemed very angry.  
\- You're one florin short, bard. - said the owner of the inn.  
\- Am not! You said the fee was four florins, and here they are! You're signing me up for the contest no matter what, or fear the consequences!  
Just as the Witcher thought. Jaskier. No matter how many times they parted ways in different corners of the continent, somehow they ended up in the same room, the musician looking for trouble as always, and the Witcher – trying to figure out what to do next.  
\- What's the fuss about? - Geralt asked one of the viewers, who was listening to the fight with idle interest.  
\- Svorlag holds an annual musical contest, - the stranger explained. - Thirty singers and bards compete for the honor to sing at the king's birthday party that is to be held this autumn. The bard in question doesn't have enough coins to pay the entrance fee.  
\- Hm...  
The quarrel seemed to get quieter. Not because Jaskier would be wise enough to give up, though.  
\- Okay, good lad, how about we negotiate? I don't have enough florins - at the moment! – the bard raised his finger significantly. - So what? If you agree to borrow me some gold, I will pay you back, with interest, as soon as the contest ends!  
\- Nice try, bard. What if you lose? I don't bet when I am not absolutely sure about the winner. Your old shabby lute? Doesn't look like the proper tool to gain me some good gold.  
\- You could take my cloak as a pledge. It's very high quality silk, I assure you, fit for a nobleman. It's worth twice the price that you are asking me for the participation in your contest.  
\- No can do, lad. They don't let the musicians, even the lasses or eunuchs like you, perform naked!  
The crowd was completely satisfied with the dirty joke when, all of a sudden, the Witcher tossed the coin at the wooden counter.  
\- The bard's in.  
Surprised and amused, the innkeeper quickly shoveled the gold into his pocket.  
Jaskier was so busy bickering with the old man that he didn't even notice Geralt until that moment. He looked astounded for a few seconds, but then composed himself and said coldly:  
\- Oh. It's you. Bartender, please give this good man his money back. I am not taking charity from cold-hearted traitors. Especially from those who betrayed my good will and friendship.  
He turned his back and started heading to the door indignated, with his head raised proudly, when the Witcher noted shortly:  
\- We're not friends. And I never betrayed anyone – except, maybe, in your imagination. Consider it an investment, bard. You offered a bargain, and I accepted it. I pay your fee, and you pay me later - with interest. You have just promised that, haven’t you?  
Jaskier paused. He slowly turned on his heels and looked at Geralt condescendingly, though with a hint of suspicion:  
\- All right, then. It's nice to know _someone_ believes in my talent these days. Just so you know what you are investing in: it’s not only the beautiful tenor that made you, Geralt of Rivia, famous all over the continent – no gratitude needed or asked for, by the way. It’s also the most skilled fingers in the north that can hold a _tremolo_ for more than seven minutes of picking! Guess I'll go buy me some spare strings so that my benefactor knows that he is not wasting his money in vain.  
Geralt didn't say anything. Nor did he follow the bard immediately as he was was going out of the in: first he needed to drink some ale and relax.  
\- You are as sure to lose your money as I am bald, Witcher. - the innkeeper said with a grin while pouring the dark foamy liquid into his mug. - We have the same winner for two years in a row. Her name is Marbella, she has the voice and the beauty of a siren. And you should see her playing the flute! No one beats her, not even the skilled violinists of the north, and not your lad with the lute, no sir. To be honest, I think our king invented this contest just to let her win again and again and again.  
\- We'll see about that. Can you tell me more about the conditions of the said contest? – the witcher asked as he passed some more small coins on the counter.  
\- There are three stages. First is instrumental improvisation. Five musicians gather together on the stage and play the same melody with variations, until the judges decide that the weakest contestants leave. It can be due to different reasons: short of breath, broken string, false note, or the musician starts to sound repetitive, for example.  
\- Then what happens?  
\- The best ten out of thirty get chosen for the next stage. They sing the song of their liking and play their musical instrument with their eyes shut. If they cheat, they are disqualified. Only the best three get to the final.  
\- And that is...?  
\- They get to sing _a cappella_ the song that the king himself chooses. It's long and technically challenging. The judges then choose the winner. Like I said, Marbella won two years in a row, - the innkeeper said with a tone of expert.  
\- Hm... Never liked the favorites of the fate. What about the other contestants, did they try beating her again?  
\- Strangely, most of them never tried participating one more time. Simply disappeared after the contest. Probably they were too humiliated with their inferior skills. - the bartender shrugged.  
The Witcher finished his drink and went out of the inn, heading for the town market. As he was expecting, he found Jaskier there. The bard had already bought the strings and now was fixing his instrument diligently.  
\- The E string, always of my concern. Two weeks ago I played at one old man's funeral, and it broke two damn times! Good thing the hero of the occasion didn't mind. - He chuckled.  
\- Show me that girl Marbella everyone is gossiping about. - Geralt asked.  
\- Oh, she's right there. The girl with greenish hair and a flute, surrounded by a crowd of fans. Not for long after they hear my lute solo! She's in my group in the improvisation round, by the way. – Jaskier mentioned, looking to the side like he didn’t care much about it.  
Marbella was a tall slender woman in her twenties, with almond-like eyes and a pouty mouth. Very good looking, except for one detail: a slight smell of fish that only sensitive people like Geralt could distinguish, probably. The admirers didn’t seem to notice anything.  
The town clock struck noon. Geralt hurried to the square, where they mounted a huge stage. Most of the chairs were taken, until the white-haired man noticed two spare places near a fat merchant in the third row. The Witcher sat there without hesitance. Jaskier looked around and reluctantly took the chair near Geralt.  
The first stage of the contest began. Among the participants, mostly five musical instruments were present: a guitar, a violin, a lute, a flute and, on rare occasions, a wooden oboe. These, supposedly, were participants from richer families. In the beginning, the contestants agreed on the scale, the rhythm and the initial melody to start with. The first group didn't last long, though: the crowd didn't like the improvisation and started throwing rotten vegetables at the flutist. The confusion led to disorganization, and soon all the members of the band got pushed out.  
\- Tough crowd… - Jaskier whispered cautiously.  
\- Careful with that green haired girl. - Geralt warned.  
\- Don't worry, I am willing to win and I plan to stay be immune to her feminine charms. Your florin is safe with me.  
\- That's the least of my concerns. Try not to approach her or talk to her, if you can. I have my suspicions, - the Witcher said.  
After a few minutes, the third group went to the stage. Jaskier took his lute and whispered to Geralt: "Don't you try and use your magic on the contestants; I want to win fair and square".  
"Don't flatter yourself. Never had anything like that in mind", - the Witcher hissed.  
They started playing a funky tune. The guitar player touched the strings lightly with fast chords. The flute soon entered the melody with her witty tune. It was beautiful and inventive, but Geralt saw clearly that Marbelle didn't let anyone else enter the melody. He observed Jaskier beating the rhythm impatiently, clamping the strings with his left hand. Finally the girl needed to catch her breath, and Jaskier started the string solo that he was so proud of. The crowd, mostly drunk, seemed to love the complexity of the tune and the tremolo: they cheered and shouted in approval. Geralt saw that Jakier was searching for him in the crowd, seeking support. He nodded very slightly: after all, it was a great performance.  
Soon the lass with the violin followed the melody and repeated it with some variations. Less than a minute passed, and Marbelle copied the motive, adding new notes. Jaskier interrupted her play with a new solo, and then the situation repeated various times. Finally, there was a short pause when the oboe took part. Geralt saw Jaskier fussing around with his lute: turned out that the E string broke as he feared since the beginning, and the fingertips of his left hand were bleeding. They played some more, with the bard heroically trying to perform the needed chords without the E string, when finally the judge stopped the improvisation and announced the results. Three of the players, including Jaskier and the green-haired girl, got to the next round.  
“You’re goddamn right, Geralt, there is something wrong with this girl, - Jaskier said when he came down from the stage. “Every time she started to play her flute, my lute went bonkers. I play this oldie for eight years, and it never betrayed me – not even when I was drunk. Not to mention that my fingers didn’t bleed since I was ten years old and I was an apprentice at the musical school”.  
The Witcher quickly examined the bard’s hand. He opened a bottle of swallow and poured some of it on Jaskier’s skin. The wounds disappeared with a quiet hiss.  
“Thank you… Not sure what to say, Geralt, but isn’t that cheating?” – the bard asked with a tone of doubt.  
“Not if your opponent uses water magic to win this thing”, - Geralt muttered and went back to his chair.  
In the second round, the ten contestants received bandages for their eyes. They could play any song they wanted. Marbelle sang a sweet song of ache and part. She couldn’t use her flute at the time, so she asked a red-haired violinist to accompany her. Jaskier went out next. “Not playing the song everyone is expecting!”, - he shouted to the crowd. Indeed, he didn’t sing the Witcher’s song, but a ballad about a damsel in distress that is being saved by the White Knight. The public loved it. However, in the end of the performance a blue bird flew over the bard, and he accidentally dropped his lute. He passed in the final, but it affected his overall score significantly, an unhappy event that helped Marbelle become a leader.  
“Dear guests, we now have the results of our unofficial poll for the best musicians – a sort of popular vote. Please note that this isn’t the fine result of a contest, the aim of this vote is just to encourage the best of the best. – the judge announced. – In the first place, with more than two hundred votes, comes Marbelle, our beloved flutist. In the second place, with one hundred and fifty five votes, comes Anna Maria, a beautiful violinist. And in the third place, with only ten votes, comes Jaskier, the lute player”.  
The bard seemed disappointed: “It can’t be. I know at least twenty people that were supposed to be voting for me. You voted for me in the poll, right?” – he asked the Witcher.  
\- Sorry, I wasn’t voting for anyone. I was too busy examining the competition. – the Witcher said, not looking at Jaskier. – Is that really so important to you?  
Jaskier sat in the chair next to Geralt without answering this question. He seemed offended.  
After the sunset, the judge came to the stage to announce the song that he three finalists needed to perform. The bard didn’t like what he heard.  
“Defying gravity”? But that's a song for women! Judge, I demand justice! I'm a tenor, not a _castrati_! How am I supposed to sing that E flat and jump the octave? You're giving Marbelle an unfair competitive advantage!”  
“That’s not my problem, bard. The king has chosen that song for the contest. It is about the protagonist finding power through their own outsider status. Aren’t you an outsider, anyway? Go and prove you’re not”, - the judge said coldly.  
Jaskier stood up and turned to the Witcher.  
\- Shit, this is just unfair, Geralt. It’s the same as making you fight with a lute instead of a sword. I can sing you any love song you like, except for this one. In this one, you simply need to be a girl and a soprano. Or there is another way. You can be a tenor. But you must be bold, emotional and desperate at the same time, and I am not sure what else: wishes coming true, hidden desires coming to the surface…  
The musician couldn’t continue his speech because Geralt grabbed his back with his left hand, cupped his cheek with his right palm and kissed his lips. Jaskier only gasped in surprise. He was too short for Geralt, so he felt his tiptoes lifting slightly, like he was leaving the ground. He thought the moment passed very fast, though, deliriously, he heard the judge calling him more than once. When the Witcher finally stopped, Jaskier took a moment to catch his breath and said with a confused look: “I have to go now and sing that goddamn song. We’ll talk about this later. Maybe. Or not… You decide”.  
It was definitely the best “Defying gravity” of that night. The singer even got that challenging E flat right, though he never did it before in his entire career. He was very emotional, breathing fast and looking at only one person in the audience, in the third row. The Witcher almost felt uncomfortable with such attention, though it was strangely pleasing at the same time. The bard didn’t win, though: Marbelle got her first place - again.  
Jaskier seemed disappointed:  
\- It’s hard to beat a girl musician when all the jury is in love with her. Even your spells didn’t help me, Witcher.  
\- Kissing the contestant is not cheating, - Geralt said softly. - All people sing better with their heart beating faster. I just gave you the proper level of inspiration to become soft and mellow for your song. The girl, however, is cheating. Marbelle is not a human, it’s a mermaid. She was once a human musician and the king’s lover, but then she got drowned by a more fortunate opponent. This contest is the only way the king can invite a mermaid to the court. I wanted to warn you, but I genuinely liked your performance in the first round.  
\- That’s flattering… I guess. How do you even know that?  
\- Everyone knows that in this town. Didn’t you notice that most of the contestants are from Spikeroog?  
\- I did. I thought it was natural: easier to come to the neighboring town than traveling from other cities.  
\- It’s good that you didn’t mess with her, as the other winners from the other years did. All of them are dead now. Consider yourself lucky.  
Jaskier smiled faintly.  
\- I am sorry you lost your investment, Geralt. Do you want to drown our sadness in a mug of ale?  
\- It’s been a long day. Think I want to have a nap first.  
\- All the rooms in the inn are taken, as far as I know. You can crash at my place, if you like. – the bard offered cautiously.  
\- Maybe I will. After all, you promised me to pay back your entrance fee with interest.  
The bard and the Witcher entered the inn without saying any more words.

**Author's Note:**

> The music that inspired me for the improvisation part is called Sequoia Biscuits "Tic Tac, Tour de Funk". If you are interested, check out the mandolin and the flute in this melody! Also, for the perfect Defying Gravity, search for Caleb Hyles.


End file.
